Money, Manifestation & Miracles: A Guide to Transforming Women's Relationships with Money

EBW2020

INTRODUCTION

I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES and that everything unfolds at the exact right time. It is no coincidence that I felt inspired to write this book to help women embrace money, wealth, and abundance as a powerful tool to recognize their greatness, lead a life of significance, and make a positive social impact on the world.

It is also no coincidence that this book has come into your life at this time. You are likely ready to align your talents and passion with your purpose and the meaningful contribution you want to make. You are also likely ready to take action to achieve financial prosperity and success while fulfilling your social promise in the world.

Social promise is your soul’s desire to give back by doing good while doing well in life. It includes a dual goal of combining wealth and profits with a mission to better society. Fulfilling your social promise can be expressed in many ways, such as supporting worthy local or global causes and the issues you most care about.

Your social promise provides a strong motivation for aligning your purpose and passion with service and contribution. Your contributions to others, as a result of your professional endeavors, will allow you not only to change lives but to deeply enrich your own life — as well as your bottom line — beyond your wildest dreams.

Let me ask you this:

What if you truly believed in your own magnificence and ability to step into your greatness and realize your highest potential?

What if you had the courage to extend your limits and create the life of your dreams, one that is rich and fulfilling in every way — financially, spiritually, and emotionally?

What if you had the tools to create a thriving six- or seven-figure income that would allow you to realize financial freedom, have an incredible lifestyle, and make a meaningful difference?

What if I told you that this and more is possible to achieve once you gain a deeper understanding of — and take action on — transforming your relationship with money?

You may be thinking, How can I have a relationship with money when money is an inanimate object? Like it or not, you are in a relationship with anything that preoccupies your time, thoughts, and actions — including money. In fact, the longest relationships that you will have are, first, your relationship with yourself and, second, your relationship with money.

The reality is that we all need money to survive, thrive, and have a quality life. Money impacts every area of your daily existence and affects the decisions you make in all areas, particularly in your business or career. If you are a business owner or are self-employed, money and profits are crucial because without them, you cease to exist as a viable enterprise. You miss the opportunity to share your talents, reach and help many people, and create a positive ripple effect.

As such, taking action to transform your relationship with money is critical. It is the first step in achieving wealth and prosperity as well as in tapping into your innermost dreams and desires.

While the focus of this book is on women, I believe that men can also find value in reading it. I wrote this book primarily with women in mind for two key reasons. The first is that as a society we have a tremendous opportunity to benefit from advancing the full participation of women. In fact, women’s economic empowerment is vital to achieving a global sustainable future. According to a 2015 McKinsey report, advancing women’s equality by narrowing the gender gap in the world of work can add $12 trillion to global economic growth by 2025. In the United States, this figure could add up to $4.3 trillion in growth if women were to attain full gender equality. This also translates into an extra £150 billion for the United Kingdom. For Canada, a PwC Women in Work 2016 Index report indicates that closing the wage gap and engaging more women in the workforce could lead to $92 billion in GDP.

A by-product of advancing women’s global economic empowerment is the generation of greater peace and harmony in the world and of greater healing for our planet. At the Vancouver Peace Summit in 2009, while surrounded by a panel of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, spiritual leaders, world leaders, and dignitaries, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (a Nobel laureate himself) delivered an affecting statement noting, "Some people may call me a feminist. . . .But we need more effort to promote basic human values — human compassion, human affection. And in that respect, females have more sensitivity for others’ pain and suffering." Yet women cannot realize these vast opportunities without the support, cooperation, and collaboration of men, who can play an important role as allies and champions.

The second reason I wrote this book with women in mind is that in order for women to truly seize this tremendous opportunity to stand in their power and own their worth, they must first develop a harmonious relationship with money. Only then can they more effectively benefit from financial literacy — developing the knowledge, skills, and ability to make sound financial decisions to achieve financial well-being. This includes possessing the understanding and skills to manage, save, spend, and donate money as a productive resource.

This book does not focus on the mechanics of financial management, budgeting, saving, and investing. Many great resources for women, related to personal financial planning, management, and investing, are available. Rather, the focus of this book is on helping you understand your beliefs and attitudes about money, achieve a harmonious relationship with money, and develop a deep sense of abundance, thereby creating enduring wealth from within.

You may have been drawn to this book because you want to create more wealth. You may want to become financially independent and have more freedom. Perhaps you want to discover the principles of manifesting wealth and abundance in all areas of your life. You may want to resolve conflicting beliefs and emotions about money so you can create positive beliefs and feel more empowered about money. Or you may want to increase your corporate income. Perhaps you are in transition from the corporate world to the entrepreneurial world and want to more confidently charge what you are worth. As an entrepreneur, you may want more sales, more clients, or a higher income. You may also want to realize your financial dreams and leverage your business and wealth to achieve a much bigger vision and mission in order to make a difference.

Whatever the reasons, you have invited this book into your life because you are on an accelerated path to personal and spiritual growth. This path will enable you to make a positive contribution to the world and to uplift humanity through your life’s work.

There has never been a better time for women to take control of our financial independence. In fact, a powerful global shift is taking place in support of women’s empowerment. Now is the best time to serve the world in a bigger way by stepping into your role as the CEO and leader of your life and business, with no apologies.

The following statistics, collected at the time of this writing, provide a brief snapshot of women’s growing economic power:

•Women control $39.6 trillion, approximately 30 percent, of the world’s wealth. By 2020 it is estimated that women will control $72.1 trillion of global wealth due to inheritances, settlements, and entrepreneurship.

•There are 190 female billionaires worldwide.

•Women control more than 60 percent of all personal wealth in the United States.

•In higher education, 57 percent of women in the United States hold bachelor’s degrees, 60 percent hold master’s degrees, and 51 percent hold doctoral degrees.

•In the United States 40 percent of women are the primary or sole breadwinners.

•In the United States 70 percent of women with children under the age of eighteen participate in the labor force.

•The global incomes of women are predicted to reach $18 trillion by 2018. Women will control close to 75 percent of discretionary spending around the world.

•Women control 85 percent of all purchasing decisions in the United States.

In terms of business, in 2012 the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor estimated that 126 million women were starting or running new businesses in sixty-seven world economies. In addition, an estimated 98 million women were running established businesses (for three years or more). In Canada 15 percent of small to medium businesses are owned by women.

Forbes magazine refers to entrepreneurship as the new Women’s Movement. Since 2007 there has been a rise in women-owned businesses in the Unites States, with 1,072 (net) new women-owned firms launched each day. Between 2007 and 2016 women-owned firms increased by 45 percent, five times the national average. Many women are leaving their corporate jobs to experience greater freedom and flexibility, to find a more meaningful way to make a difference, and to take control of their income and livelihoods.

According to a 2016 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, there are 11.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States, employing close to 9 million people and generating more than $1.6 trillion in revenues.

These figures will continue to grow, owing to a partnership between the governments of Canada and the United States, resulting in the creation of a joint Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders. The purpose of the initiative is to support women’s economic growth by helping to remove barriers to competitiveness for women entrepreneurs as well as to address issues facing women in the workforce, including those faced by senior leaders. This means that women entrepreneurs will have greater access to networks, capital, and markets in starting and growing successful businesses.

There is much to celebrate with these positive advancements. At the same time, there is also much room for improvement. Despite women comprising half the world’s population, and representing the largest growing market, they still remain an untapped power. This is particularly the case in four key areas: earnings, leadership, politics, and business income.

In the area of earnings, the wage gap continues to exist:

•On a global average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar men earn.

•In Canada women earn 87 cents for every dollar men earn.

•In the United Kingdom women earn 9.4 percent less than men.

•In the United States women earn 79 cents for every dollar men earn.

In the area of leadership, a 2017 report by Fortune Knowledge Group, in collaboration with Royal Bank of Canada, states that only 4.2 percent of women hold CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies and 9 percent globally.

The reality of these figures contradicts years of research indicating that companies that are engaged in gender diversity and that have women in leadership roles are 15 percent more likely to experience higher financial performance. In the same report, more than 7,500 senior management positions in Fortune 500 companies were identified in 2016, of which 19 percent were held by women.

On corporate boards:

•Globally women held 14.7 percent of board seats in 2015. Only 20 percent of boards have at least three women.

•European countries such as Norway (46.7 percent), France (34 percent), and Sweden (33.6 percent) are leading the way in having the highest percentage of women on their boards.

•Countries with the lowest percentage of women on boards include Taiwan (4.5 percent), South Korea (4.1 percent), and Japan (3.5 percent).

•The percentage of women on corporate boards in the United States is 19.9 percent and 21.6 percent in Canada.

•While the percentages are higher in Europe, women in general are far less likely to lead boards or board committees.

•In the political sphere, as of 2016, globally only one in five people elected to office were women.

•In early 2017 there were ten women serving as heads of state and nine as heads of government around the world.

•In the United States 19 percent of the House of Representatives and 21 percent of the Senate members are women.

•In Canada 26 percent of the House of Commons and 43 percent of the Senate members are women.

•In the United Kingdom 29 percent of the members of Parliament and 26 percent of members in the House of Lords are women.

In the area of entrepreneurship, globally women continue to face various challenges to their success, including limited access to funding, lack of available mentors and role models, an imbalanced share of family work, and a lack of self-confidence. In fact, according to the Kauffman Foundation, nearly 80 percent of women in the tech industry in the United States use personal savings for capital because of limited access.

While the number of female-owned businesses in the United States is growing five times faster than the national average, these businesses are contributing only 4 percent of the nation’s business revenues — a share that has not changed during the past twenty years. And despite generating $1.6 trillion in revenues in 2016, 7.9 percent of women generated between $100,000 and $500,000, while only 3.3 percent of women-owned businesses generated more than $500,000 in revenues.

What Holds Women Back?

This brief snapshot provides an opportunity to get to the root of what holds women back. Working with my clients, I have identified several reasons that women may not be doing as well as they could be. For one, often their self-confidence does not match their skill level. Despite their talents, accomplishments, and expertise, many women still question whether they are truly good enough, smart enough, and worthy enough to succeed and prosper financially.

In fact, I have witnessed that regardless of age, educational background, and income level, many women privately struggle with valuing themselves and their worth. This in turn can impact their ability to succeed or grow their business or advance in their career. As Sheryl Sandberg has so famously claimed, women hesitate to lean in. I have witnessed that women experience a disconnection between:

•what they’ve accomplished and their level of self-confidence.

•what they really want and what they settle for.

•valuing what they do and valuing their self-worth.

•the determination they show on the outside and the fear and doubt they feel about themselves on the inside.

In my work I encounter many accomplished, talented, and motivated women who are visionary change makers. They want to make a significant contribution to the world and be richly rewarded for the value they provide through their life’s work. Deep inside, these ambitious and goal-oriented women want to make a sizable income, make a large impact, and achieve outstanding success. This is inspiring and admirable.

However, what many women actually experience is the opposite. Thus, high-achieving women at various income levels and stages in their business or career seek my help because they want to develop money mastery to achieve success and fulfillment on their own terms. They want to own their fullest worth and express their brilliance. They also want income growth. They are frustrated with their earnings when they do not match the bigger vision they have of their potential. Their income also does not allow them to fund their dreams and social mission or the legacy they want to leave behind.

Some of the challenges these women face include:

•struggling to break through to the next level of income and success.

•feeling anxious about not being able to achieve and exceed their past success, revenue, or salary.

•finding that no matter how hard they work, they are stuck with the same income.

These challenges have puzzled and fascinated me. What was holding these otherwise successful women back from making a meaningful difference doing what they love? Through my training and experience in the area of women and money, as well as my personal journey, I finally realized what the root cause of this issue is. What holds many women back from making the kind of income they desire and deserve has little to do with their intelligence, motivation, or spirit — but much to do with their relationship to money.

This was the missing piece of the puzzle. I realized that somehow these women were giving away their personal power through money. This included engaging in self-sabotaging actions that led them to experience money-related stress and anxiety,